Clinton County couple finds winning lottery ticket among trash

April 22, 2007

FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP) Â? A couple picking up trash along a roadside found a winning scratch-off lottery ticket that led them to a $1,000 jackpot. Ronnie and Tina Abbott said they found a lottery ticket worth $15 Sunday while picking up garbage along a Clinton County road near Frankfort, about 55 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

The next day, they cashed in that ticket at a local store and bought one that turned out to be a $1,000 winner.

"It does pay to pick up trash," Tina Abbott said.

She and her husband haven't decided how they'll spend their winnings.

During their trash collection excursion, the couple also found three unopened cans of Billy Beer, a failed brand endorsed by former President Jimmy Carter's late brother, Billy Carter.

"That tells you how often it's cleaned out there," Tina Abbott said.

The couple collected 13 bags of trash and six tires over five hours Sunday. Tina Abbott said they decided to clean up the roadside because they grew tired of seeing the trash when they drove to and from their home.